Sorting in Three Parts
by Calai'di
Summary: Everyone has to get Sorted sometime... Hogwarts AU; features Kaito, Ryoga, Rio, Yuma, and Astral


_Hogwarts AU: Kaito, Ryoga, Rio, Yuma, and Astral's Sortings; set in the same AU as _Evening Falls

* * *

**Sorting in Three Parts**

_"Don't worry, the hat takes what you want into consideration too."_

That was what Chris had said during the summer, the one time Kaito had expressed his worry that they might not be in the same House. At the time, it had soothed his worries; Chris had already been through his first year—and thus, his Sorting—and he hadn't been put into Ravenclaw for no reason. If anyone was going to know something like that, it was Chris.

But that was during the summer. Now, as Kaito stood in the middle of the Great Hall with the other first years, as name after name was called out, he couldn't help but worry again. It wouldn't be the end of the world if they were in different Houses but...it wouldn't be very fun either. He was used to spending so much time with Chris that they might as well have been family; the last year while Chris wasn't there had been miserable.

Most of the other first years were gone now...Kaito bit his lip and rose up on his tiptoes for a moment to look around for Chris—he'd only managed a glance when they were paraded into the Great Hall and Chris had been talking to some girl in his year—but he couldn't see his friend from here—

"Tenjou, Kaito!"

Kaito took a deep breath and walked up the to front of the hall where the hat was waiting for him. The hat was placed on his head, where it slipped down to his ears and over his eyes, before he could try to look for Chris again.

The hat was silent for a good long time, although Kaito could practically feel it thinking, before if finally said anything. "Hmm, Ravenclaw, eh? Not a bad fit, but I wonder if you wouldn't fit better elsewhere. You've got a lot of potential to be daring, to protect your loved ones at any cost, determination and drive...might be better to put you in Gryffindor..."

No, no, no, no—_"Please...Ravenclaw, please..."_

"Hmm..." the hat said, and the uncertainty made Kaito grip the edges of the stool tight. _Please..._ "No, not a bad fit...there's certainly intelligence and a thirst for knowledge, I see it's not just for a friend...it's not the best fit, but if you're sure? Better be RAVENCLAW!"

Kaito thought he might fall over. It really had listened to him...! He got to his feet carefully once the hat was taken away, but then he nearly ran over to the Ravenclaw table, searching frantically for Chris—

And there he was, a proud smile on his face and clapping with the rest of them—and with an open spot on the bench next to him, like he'd never doubted Kaito would be joining him.

* * *

Ryoga wished his sister would just _stop_ already. She'd been humming the sorting hat's song under her breath since it finished, and it was getting annoying. Not to mention he was already nervous and it wasn't helping that at all.

What if they ended up in different Houses? They were so different that they probably would, although he didn't want to think about which ones they'd be. He didn't want to get his hopes up and be disappointed. But what if they somehow ended up in the same House? That was what they were used to, that was what he wanted...kind of. Sometimes Rio was really impossible to live with and he was sure it would only be worse without their parents around but with new people to impress. But if they didn't, would he be lonely? He they did, would she sneak into his room to sleep with him like she did sometimes? If they didn't, would—

"_Ryoga,_" Rio murmured, lightly kicking his foot to get his attention, "you're hurting my hand."

Ryoga blinked down at their hands; his knuckles were white and his fingers were digging into the back of her hand.

"Sorry," he murmured, immediately loosening his grip. Why was he so nervous anyway, it wasn't like they'd never see each other if they _did_ end up in different houses. They'd probably end up living in each other's common rooms...

"I think it's almost our turn," Rio said, and not a second later, the teacher called out her name. Rio smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze, but she didn't say anything else before she pulled away and walked out of the line. Maybe she was nervous too.

Now he wasn't sure what would happen. Would the hat sit there for a while, like it had some of the others, or would it know immediately...?

Rio sat primly on the stool and the hat was placed on her head. The seconds passed like hours...

"SLYTHERIN!"

Ryoga felt his heart sink a bit as Rio slid off the stool and waves to him on her way to her new table. He'd really tried no to think about it, but he didn't think he'd fit in Slytherin at all. It was a good choice for Rio, though...

He took a deep breath and started walking almost before the teacher had finished saying his name. The hat had decided on Rio pretty fast, no matter what it had felt like, but there was no saying that would be the case for him too. They were different, but there was still a lot about them that was the same, and now the hat had a reference to judge him by—

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ryoga started and stared up at the hat. He'd hardly even sat down! But no, it was done, and now he was being ushered out of his seat so the next kid could be Sorted—

He had to pass by the Slytherin table on the way to his own, and when he looked up, Rio was smiling at him with a familiar look in her eyes, that look she got when they played a game or got their grades back from their tutor, that look that said this was a challenge and she was going to win. Well, they were _rivals_ now, he supposed, proper ones that had nothing to do with being twins.

Ryoga smirked back and held his head a bit taller the rest of the way to his table, where some fourth year with loud red and yellow hair tugged him down into the open seat between him and some sixth year with equally loud hair who scowled at him over Ryoga's head.

* * *

"Hurry _uuuup_..." Yuma whined under his breath. The girl sitting on the stool had to have been there five minutes already! It was almost his turn and he wanted to just get it over with so they could finally eat something.

"I don't think the hat can hear you, Yuma," murmured the boy next to him, even as the hat yelled out its choice and the girl scrambled off to her table.

Yuma just grinned and shrugged. That wasn't really the point, but it seemed like Astral took things a bit too literally sometimes. Maybe it was just because he was nervous...although he'd been like that on the train too.

"Hey, where do you think you're gonna go?" Yuma asked as the next kid walked off to join his Housemates; at least that one had been fast.

Astral blinked at him, like he couldn't understand why Yuma was even talking to him, and opened his mouth to say something.

"Robinstar, Astral!"

"I guess we'll find out, huh?" Yuma said, giving Astral a little push. Astral stood there staring at him for another good long moment—although it was that same look that said he didn't know why anyone was being friendly with him, not because Yuma had pushed him—before he finally started walking up to the stool. He didn't seem nervous at all, unlike most of the other kids. Neither was Yuma, but he was at least excited about it.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Yuma clapped with everyone else when Astral came out from under than hat, even though first years didn't do that, and he grinned at Astral as he passed on the way to his table, which just got him another look. None of that mattered. If Astral was so bewildered by the idea that he might make friends, that just meant Yuma would have to try harder to _be_ that friend. Everyone needed at least one friend.

It felt like it took _forever_ for the next few kids to go (except some boy named Shingetsu, who got Sorted into Slytherin as soon as the hat got near him). Why were there so many other kids who's names started with "T" this year anyway?

But finally, _finally_, his own name echoed through the room and he marched up to the stool.

Now that he was sitting here, though, with the hat on his head and waiting for it to decide where he should go, he did feel a little nervous. He wasn't really sure where he belonged, so how was the hat supposed to figure that out? What if he sat here for ages too while everyone else waited and stared at him...

He scowled at himself and clenched his fists on the edge of the stool. He was being stupid; of course that didn't matter.

He almost didn't notice the hat had started talking. Gryffindor...Gryffindor would be okay. His parents had been Gryffindors, and he always wanted to be like them...his sister hadn't been, though, so it was okay if he wasn't too...

"SLYTHERIN!"

Heh, just like his sister. Yuma grinned and stood up so fast he almost took the hat with him on his way across the Hall.

Astral looked a bit startled when he plopped down in the seat between him and Shingetsu, but then after another moment of staring, he finally smiled and let Yuma draw him into a discussion of what they might have for dinner.


End file.
